Two generations of tellers head home on an old country dirt road after a long day visiting plantations cross de south.
Old man: -Spits in slop cup-
Raheem: Daddy why you actin funny today?
Old man: Ok Raheem. Yall been idle long enuf. Next time you finna entertain de folks at dat plantation, and I will sign best as I can. -laughs- Dat’s if my arthritis don’t hold me back.
Raheem: No, Daddy.
Old man: Don’t no me Boy! My memory ain’t what it usta be.
Raheem: But, why me Daddy?
Old man: -Spits in slop cup- Cause dat’s what our folks do Raheem.
Raheem: -Silence-
Old man: We hold de recipes of our hxrstory. Cook up sumthang good ta feed our peoples souls. Kept hidden under de guise of recipes, or through our dances; our stories hold our lineage.
-Spits in slop cup-
Raheem: -Silence-
Old man: Look you don’t have ta do it like ya Daddy do. Der ain’t nothin wrong wit dancing ya tales out. If dat’s de way they come out!
Raheem: -voice cracking-I know Daddy!-lowers head-
Old man: Head up Boy! -Spits in slop cup- If ya Daddy Earl could see yall doin dat mess.
-shakes head-
Raheem: I know Daddy.
Old man: You know! -laughs- He usta dance his tales bout de ancient folks too.
Raheem: Really?
Old man: -Spits in slop cup- But, in de time of our youth men folk weren’t permitted to dance dey tales. Yes, dat was only fa women and femmes.
Raheem: Worlds changed. Yes.But it still be mad scary. It’s like I get lifted to another plane of existence when I dance.
Old man: -Spits in slop cup- And how you thank de world changed Raheem? Cause, folks like Daddy Earl risked being banished fo dancing to keep cookin up de past!
Raheem: I know Daddy. So how long do I have ta prepare?
Old man: -Spits in slop cup- Ohh, what we gathered today should last me and yo hungrymouth siblings for bout two weeks.
Raheem: What am I even gon dance bout Daddy?
Old man: Boy don’t you know anythang? -laughs- You will take my place as a teller, and so my tales are automaticity bequeath ta your peanut head. Plus, Daddy Earl’s too!
Raheem: -laughs- Sounds like a plan Old Man. However, I will go with Daddy Earls moves first.
Old man: And, which moves would dat be Boy?
Raheem: -Bending his arms rhythmically and singing- You know dat nursery rhyme we would dance bout de Syncerus folks and de Hunters!
Old man: -Spits in slop cup-
Artist Statement: Based in my artistic practice, my performances/research explores how Black queer people such as myself have implemented and created a means of survival through Black performance art, creating a mode of active radical resistance. These mode(s) draw upon performative traditions including call and response, improvisation, reading, throwing shade, and African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). My pieces extrapolates theories both from queer of color critique and Black foodways, synthesizing different dialects of an innovative visual language.
